(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) NICK OF TIME: Hun School boy’s ice hockey player Nick Pierce heads up the ice in action this winter. Senior forward Pierce’s production and leadership helped the Raiders go 8-10-2 this winter and advance to the state Prep semifinals.

Young Players Learned Valuable Lessons As Hun Boys’ Ice Hockey Made Progress

Bill Alden

Coming into the winter, Francois Bourbeau knew he faced a challenge molding together his Hun School boys’ hockey team with a roster that included 14 freshmen and sophomores.

The team struggled a bit in the early going as it dropped its first two games, getting outscored 6-14 in the process. Adapting to head coach Bourbeau’s system, the young squad grew into a competitive unit as it finished with an 8-10-2 record.

“I was happy with it,” said Bourbeau, reflecting on the season which saw the Raiders post wins over such formidable foes as Chestnut Hill and the Haverford School and blank Montclair-Kimberley 5-0 to advance to the state Prep semis.

“The guys worked really hard. It was a young team and we did well for the team that we had.”

The Raiders learned some valuable lessons down the stretch as they fell to Pingry in the Prep semis and the Academy of New Church in the Independent Hockey League (IHL) playoffs.

“We ran into some tough teams in the tournaments,” said Bourbeau. “We had a couple of key injuries to Terry Ryan and Matt Johnson that hurt us. Matt was a big loss because he helps on offense and defense.”

The team’s last line of defense, freshman goalie Devin Cheifetz, emerged as a tough customer for Hun.

“Devin really improved as the year went on,” said Bourbeau of his young netminder, who was sharp in blanking MKA in the Prep playoffs and earlier produced a remarkable 59-save performance in a 2-1 loss to Prep champions Princeton Day School.

“It is hard coming in as a freshman and being a starting goalie. He made a difference; he won some games for us at the end.”

Sophomore forwards Peter Nawn and Alex Vukasin also made a difference for the Raiders this winter.

“I was pretty happy with Peter Nawn; he gained confidence and got better as the season went on,” added Bourbeau.

“Alex was injured for most of his freshman year; we were happy that we got him for the whole season. We got a lot of goals from him.”

The team’s senior class of Ryan, Johnson, Will Sweetland, Greg Seelagy, and Nick Pierce helped the team achieve its goal of being competitive.

“I think all of them contributed, it was a good group,” asserted Bourbeau.

“They are not superstars but they are all hard workers with good skills who got better. They are not playing in college so this is it for them in hockey and they gave their all.”

In Bourbeau’s view, playing in the IHL inspired his players to give their all collectively.

“I am really happy with the league; it is well balanced and that is what I was looking for when we joined it,” said Bourbeau, noting that his team finished third of nine teams in the regular season standings.

“Every game means something. Before we would play games and they would have no meaning down the road.”

With the progress made by its young players this winter, Hun is looking pretty good down the road.

“They worked hard and learned my system,” said Bourbeau. “They know what to expect next year and that will be a help.”

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